Mermaid Treasures 25

My parents recently travelled to the USA and brought me back these two elegant mermaid statuettes from a shop somewhere in California. They statues are made of resin but have bronze highlights through them. There is a sticker on the bottom of each that says they came from Milk and Honey – a gift supplier from New Mexico.  I found mermaids on their online catalogue and indeed these two beauties are amongst them. The only catch is that they are available just to retailers at a wholesale price. If you like them, we suggest getting on to your local gift store and put in a request to have them ordered in. Here's the website catalogue page.

Mermaid Treasures 24

I should have posted this a few days ago prior to Halloween come to think of it... This little Mer-Witch hanging ornament is an absolute delight. She has a sparkly black tail and an even more sparkly pumpkin handbag. This was a gift to me from one of our long-time readers – Jaysun – from Alaska. He sent a merman companion gift to Jozef as well, which we'll feature here soon. At the moment this ornament is hanging from the bookshelf in my office but once my mermaid room has had a makeover, I'll relocate her. Thanks, Jaysun, for your thoughtfulness. She's gorgeous.

Mermaid Treasures 23

Jozef bought me this cute Arial pen when he visited Euro Disney in Paris last year. Arial has featured twice in my last two Mermaid Treasures posts but how can you resist such an adorable creation as she is. I have her propped up against a cushion in the pic, but ordinarily she sits in a pen container on my desk. I doubt very much that I will ever use her – she's mostly decorative.

Mermaid Treasures 22

My sister and her husband surprised me with this gorgeous Arial pic for Xmas, which they bought in Disneyland last year. They had it specially framed and shipped over. It now hangs in my office opposite my armchair from which I work.

Mermaid Treasures 21

Received this delightful mermaid Christmas ornament from my sister. Tanya had spotted this green haired beauty in New Orleans during a holiday in the USA last year. This green haired, green tailed mermaid treasure is hanging on the Christmas tree in the photo but now she's permanently installed in my office.

Mermaid Treasures 20

Somebody gave me this lovely smiley little mermaid bookmark a few years ago. I don't use her as such – I actually have her sitting in and peering out of the pen holder on my desk in my office. What a cutie ...

Mermaid Treasures 19

Christmas is nearly upon us and I thought I might show you a little stuffed mermaid soft toy I received as a gift a few years ago. She's not terrible sophisticated, but there's something charming about her. She hangs from the door knob in my mermaid room.

Mermaid Treasures 18

This cute little mermaid bookmark was a gift from a distant Austrian relative. She is, of course, safely ensconced in my mermaid room which is attached to my office.

Mermaid Treasures 17

Received this lovely framed mermaid print for Christmas. I'm not skilled enough to identify the medium – my guess is either pastels, watercolour or both. There is a signature on the bottom RH corner starting with a "T" but I can't read it so I can't tell you who the artist is. The back of the frame has a stamp from the framers but no more identifying information. Anyway, she's quite lovely and the colour pallette is perfect for my mermaid room, which is attached to my office and is where I house my mermaid collectibles. It's a bedroom so it also comes in mighty handy when I want an afternoon snooze ...

Mermaid Treasures 16

I scored a lot of mermaid booty for Christmas and in this particular case – a belated birthday present (from August) – which I thought I might share with you. This was winter pyjama pants and a sleep-mask in a little bag made by "Annelise for Susans". I looked it up on the Internet to see if it was still available but couldn't find a reference. The material appears to be flannellette (I should check the label but don't want to go back into the house right now). I couldn't wait to sleep in the pants so tried them out about a week ago, but the night was so hot and humid I had to take them off before I cooked. However, the following two nights were so unseasonably cold that I put them back on again and slept under a doona (quilt) to keep warm and the PJs turned out to be perfect. I matched them with one of our Valentine Black Mermaid™ (Heart of my Heart) top. So there you have it ... I will endeavour to keep them for as long as I can.

Mermaid Treasures 15

I was recently given a delightful mermaid blockmount for my birthday. which has since found a central place in my mermaid room that is attached to my studio. The artists' name is Monique Cannon – she's also a groovy chalk artist from Queensland, Australia. The picture is called "Mermaid on Sand" (Item # BLK239) if you're thinking of buying it. It's actually part of a three blockmount set rather like a triptych (see top picture – mine is the third piece). I rang up Monique and the distributor Splosh the other day to get permission to feature the pieces on this blog. The latter told me there are lots of other mermaid goodies available from them in the form of frames, signs, artboards, trinket boxes and ceramic wall hangings. Retailers can order them from Splosh Australia. The products are available from all good gift/homeware stores OR customers can phone Splosh directly on +61 7 3208 4077 and the customer service department can let you know where your closest store is for the stock you're looking for. 

Mermaid Treasures 13

She's called "Treasures of the Deep AM 3409" – or at least that's what it says on the box she came in. That's really all I know about her – couldn't find anything from trowelling around on the Internet. But she's quite lovely. And there's some lovely detailing  – you can't see it on the pics but ever scale in her tail and every bead on her hair ornament is defined.  Even the coral, shells and starfish below her have the same look and feel as the real thing.

Mermaid Treasures 12

This pewter (at least I think she's pewter because she's quite heavy and never tarnishes!) mermaid is one of my favourites. She is currently located by my bedside in my mermaid room, which is attached to my work studio. She also often has pride of place as a centrepiece near the flower arrangement on the dinner table while I am entertaining. Guest love her too.

More Robin Jacques Surprises

Couldn't resist – I'm on a roll and want to spoil you with more Robin Jacques artwork – this time from the Ruth Manning Sanders' title A Book of Witches, which was originally published in 1965 (I have the 1979 edition). Here's the cover art and a plate from the Norwegian folk tale "Tatterhood".

Even More Robin Jacques

Readers previously unfamiliar with Robin Jacques, the illustrator of the wonderful Ruth Manning Sanders' collections of fairy tales from around the world, have been captivated by the etchings we've posted from the Book of Mermaids and in a Robin Jacques-specific post. Here's an additional treat from a Book of Dragons – the cover and the title page. Please forgive the untidiness of the scans but this edition was published in 1965 and despite being currently kept in pristine archiving conditions at home, I did obtain the book second hand at the time in which I bought it from an antiquarian book dealer in the early 90s. Enjoy!

Mermaid Treasures 10

My lovely friend Kathy from Wisconsin sent me this charming piece several years ago for Christmas. It's a "Laini's Ladies" mermaid hanging adornment created by Portland, Oregon artist Laini Taylor. There's a real contemporary look to her – she reminds of a flapper mermaid (although I am still trying to figure our how peacock feather wings are practical for a mermaid in water but that's just the writer in me). For those of you who are interested in obtaining her, check out the Mermaid Perch online store. Her catalogue number is #60106. If you are interested in seeing more of the Liani's Ladies range go to Bottman Design – there are lots of bohemian ladies, fairies, muses and goddesses to choose from including the Diet Goddess and the Muse of Chocolate.   

Mermaid Treasures 9

This sweet, little hand made porcelain figurine was given to me for my birthday two years ago. The soft pastel colours contrast vividly with the more brighter mermaid pieces in my collection. Jozef recognised it at once – when I first showed him – as being Spanish in origin and coming from the NAO factory in Valencia. This little one is called Sea Maiden and it was sculpted by Eva Maria Cuerva. You might also want to check out Sounds of the Sea, Jewel of the Sea as well as the mermaid historical collection on the NAO website. 

Mermaid Treasures 8

This chubby little mermaid ornament was given to me for Christmas one year. She dangles from the door in my office. I think Jozef has a similar one. We both like the style very much and she has inspired us to create something in this mould in comics somewhere down the line. For some reason she reminds me of the Madame Morrible character in Wicked but not as nasty. 

Mermaid Treasures 7

I recently discovered a beautiful collection of mermaid cards called "Tarot of Mermaids" artwork by Mauro De Luca, text by Pietro Alligo.

I bought it on Amazon on my birthday while I was in a mermaid-purchasing frame of mind. I came across this set, and just automatically added it to my shopping cart without knowing what I'd find inside, although the cover illustration was lovely. I figured one way or another I'd have a lovely set of mermaid images.

Well when I got it I was blown away with the beautiful artwork – it was very well drawn and amazingly colored. Any mermaid lover will love this set.

As a pagan goddess figure it also make sense to see mermaids in the Tarot. I've done readings with Julie on mermaid related projects using her various mythology-based tarot card sets, and funnily enough, the mermaids within the tarot pack all made an appearance in the readings.

I showed the pack to Julie a few weeks ago, and we asked some questions about Elf-Fin. Being that all the cards were mermaids, it wasn't now about what mermaids surfaced in the reading, but which ones in particular. Well the reading was very favourable although it highlighted a need for patience. I think that the mermaids in this tarot pack are excited about Elf-Fin...

Mermaid Treasures 6

Well not quite... strictly speaking this is not mermaid paraphernalia, although I sometimes imagine what it would look like with a mermaid figure on it. I love this piece nevertheless and it holds its place nicely in my mermaid collection. It's actually a lamp. I had it next to my bedside when I was a child and for some reason it gave me great comfort to look at it. It's a pink pottery shell with a couple of colourful angel fish in the interior and a cluster of decorative sea anemones and clam  shells along the base. There's a sticker on the outside that says "Peggy Stanton Hand Styled". I just Googled it and got a hit onto eBay that says it is a "rare pottery shell and tv lamp" and yes, that it's "very kitsch".